ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
MISSION SAGAR III - INS KILTAN ARRIVES AT HO CHI MINH CITY
Indian Naval Ship Kiltan arrived at NhaRong Port, Ho Chi Minh City on 24 December 2020 as part of Mission Sagar-III. This Mission is part of India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief  assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries during the ongoing pandemic.
The ship will deliver 15 Tons of HADR Stores for the flood-affected people of Central Vietnam, which will be handed over to Vietnam’s Central Steering Committee for National Disaster Prevention and Control. This assistance is reflective of the deep people-to-people connect between the two friendly countries.
Mission Sagar-III is being undertaken in accordance with Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR  and reiterates India’s position as a dependable partner, and the Indian Navy as the Preferred Security Partner and First Responder. The Mission also highlights the importance accorded to ASEAN countries and further strengthens the existing bonds.
India and Vietnam have a civilisational relationship that is over two millennia old. India-Vietnam relations have grown stronger in recent times due to the vibrant economic engagement and growing convergence on issues of common interests. The bilateral relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.
The current visit seeks to enhance maritime cooperation between the two Navies and will further bolster the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries and contribute to security and stability in the region.On departure from Ho Chi Minh City, the ship will undertake a Passage Exercise with the Vietnam People’s Navy in the South China Sea from 26 to 27 December 2020.
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Special Service and Features
Media should help take welfare schemes of Union, State governments to public: Vellore Collector Shri Kumaravel Pandian
Vellore Collector Shri P Kumaravel Pandian today said media should help take the benefits of various welfare schemes being implemented by the Union and State governments to the public.
He was speaking at the Rural Media Workshop conducted in Vellore by the Press Information Bureau, Chennai of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Presided over by PIB Additional Director General Shri M Annadurai, the workshop was inaugurated by Shri Kumaravel Pandian.
Various details of the welfare schemes being implemented by the Union government under Health, Social Welfare  and Finance among other departments were explained in detail at the workshop. Awareness materials were also released on the occasion.
In his address, Shri Kumaravel Pandian said that due to the schemes being implemented by the governments for over last three decades, facilities and opportunities which were limited to the rich are now being availed by everyone.
Stating that the government is according priority to solve the basic issues of the public and the Central and State governments are implementing various projects by understanding the needs of the people, the Collector said the media has an important role in this.
Shri Kumaravel Pandian said with a view to benefit all sections of the society including children, women, students and senior citizens, various schemes such as 35 kg free rice, Pongal gift hamper, free uniform for students and travel passes are being implemented by the government. Urging the media to make everyone aware of these schemes, he said the media should play an active role in taking the schemes to the public. He also said the media is working in such a way that government organisations are discharging their duties in efficient manner.
Speaking at the event, Shri Annadurai said the people welfare schemes being implemented by the Union and the State governments should reach the public through the media.
Listing out some of the welfare measures, he said the government is implementing schemes from birth to death such as assistance to pregnant women, marriage assistance scheme and senior citizen schemes. Various insurance schemes are being implemented by public sector banks and post offices, he said and urged the media to make the people aware of these.
"The media should take the benefits of government schemes to people living in rural areas. The media should contribute for the development of the country," he said.
Shri Nadeem Thufail T, Deputy Director, PIB Chennai, explained the activities of the Press Information Bureau.
District Lead Bank Manager Shri John Theodosius, National Health Mission's Vellore District Assistant Project Manager Dr Rakesh Karunanidhi, Social Welfare Department Protection Officer Smt Nithya and Social Welfare Department  official Shri Sundaramurthy explained welfare schemes being implemented by the Union and the State governments.
District Social Welfare Officer Smt Murugeswari, Vellore Assistant Field Publicity Officer Shri Jayganesh and others attended the workshop.
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Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri felicitates ‘Veer Naris’ of Armed Forces personnel killed in Manipur landslide
Nation will forever remain indebted to the sacrifices made by our soldiers, says Shri Rajnath Singh at the event organised at Bengdubi Military Station in Darjeeling
Assures full support of Ministry of Defence to the families
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, on August 18, 2022, felicitated the ‘Veer Naris’ of the Armed Forces personnel, who lost their lives in a recent landslide at Tupul in Manipur. The felicitation ceremony was organised at Bengdubi Military Station in Darjeeling district of West Bengal by Trishakti Corps. Thirty personnel - one officer, three Junior Commissioned Officers and 26 Other Ranks – of 107 Infantry Battalion  11 Gorkha Rifles were among the 61 people killed during the tragedy in June. The Raksha Mantri presented cheques of Rs seven lakh to each ‘Veer Nari’. Thirteen soldiers, who got injured in the tragedy, were also felicitated during the event.
During the interaction with the Veer Naris and soldiers, Shri Rajnath Singh paid glowing tributes to the deceased personnel, commending their bravery and dedication. He stated that the Nation will always remain indebted to the sacrifices made by the soldiers. He added that the Government is making sure that financial stability is provided to the families and dependents of the brave soldiers, assuring full support of Ministry of Defence. The Raksha Mantri lauded the Armed Forces for playing an important role in completing the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal Rail Line Project in a challenging situation. He said, the project is important for meeting the strategic and socio-economic needs of the country.
The Veer Naris and the soldiers conveyed their gratitude and appreciated the initiatives taken by Ministry of Defence and Indian Army to motivate the youth to join the Armed Forces.
Member of Parliament, Darjeeling Shri Raju Bista, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, GOC, 111 Sub Area Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich and other senior officials of the Indian Army were present on the occasion.
President's Secretariat
PRESS COMMUNIQUE
The President of India has accepted the resignations of Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari as Governor of Maharashtra and Shri Radha Krishnan Mathur as Lt. Governor of Ladakh.
The President of India is pleased to make the following appointments:-
 Lt. General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, PVSM, UYSM, YSM  as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
 Shri Lakshman Prasad Acharya as Governor of Sikkim
 Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan as Governor of Jharkhand
 Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla as Governor of Himachal Pradesh
 Shri Gulab Chand Kataria as Governor of Assam
 Shri Justice  S. Abdul Nazeer as Governor of Andhra Pradesh
 Shri Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh appointed as Governor of Chhattisgarh
 Sushri Anusuiya Uikye, Governor of Chhattisgarh appointed as Governor of Manipur
 Shri La. Ganesan, Governor of Manipur appointed as Governor of Nagaland
 Shri Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar appointed as Governor of Meghalaya
 Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed as Governor of Bihar
 Shri Ramesh Bais, Governor of Jharkhand appointed as Governor of Maharashtra
 Brig.  Shri B.D. Mishra , Governor of Arunachal Pradesh appointed as Lt. Governor of Ladakh
The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.
Prime Minister's Office
Nepal PM's congratulatory telephone call to PM
Prime Minister of Nepal, Rt. Hon’ble K.P. Sharma Oli called Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today and congratulated him on the electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
PM Modi thanked PM Oli for his warm words of felicitations and reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthen the bonds of India-Nepal friendship.
The two leaders while expressing satisfaction at the significant progress in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the traditionally close and friendly ties between the two countries and work towards deepening multi-faceted bilateral cooperation.
Ministry of Communications
Design led Incentive scheme gets enthusiastic response from Telecom Equipment manufacturers
32 companies including 22 MSMEs submit applications for Design led Incentive scheme and Production Linked Incentive  scheme of Telecom
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat is taking concrete steps in Telecom equipment manufacturing.
Production Linked Incentive scheme in telecom sector was launched in 2021. A total of 31 companies are existing beneficiary for manufacturing of various telecom equipment under the PLI scheme.
To promote the entire value-chain in telecom manufacturing, Design-led PLI was launched in June 2022. It provided additional incentive of 1% over and above the existing incentives for products that are designed in India. The application window was open from 21st June till 25th August, 2022.
A total of 32 companies  have submitted applications. 17 of these 32 companies have applied as Design-led manufacturers and remaining as Production linked manufacturers. It is heartening that 18 new companies have submitted applications.
India is poised to emerge as design and manufacturing hub for telecom and networking equipment.
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
Clean water in villages of NER
North-East Region  possess about 33 % of average Annual Water Resources availability in the country. Since the rainfall is restricted to around 6 months a year, some villages may face water shortages in the dry months especially from December to March.
The Government has launched/approved the following schemes for utilizing the water resources of the country including the North Eastern Region :
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana  formulated with the vision of extending the coverage of irrigation and improving water use efficiently. Some of the components of this scheme include:
- Repair, Renovation & Restoration  of water bodies 
- Surface Minor Irrigation  scheme for providing financial assistance to identified minor irrigation projects  using surface water.
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna – Har Khet Ko Paani - Ground Water Irrigation  scheme for providing financial assistance to States for assured ground water irrigation to small and marginal farmers.
 Three National Projects in North East, namely, Kulsi Dam Project , Nao Dihing Dam Project and Upper Siang Project in Arunachal Pradesh have been approved by the Government of India for implementation.
In addition, since August 2019, Government of India in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission , to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity at the rate of 55 litre per capita per day  of prescribed quality  on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household of the country including NE States, through tap water connection, by 2024. At present 21,999 habitations in the NER states have potable water supply of more than 55 litre per capita per day  and efforts are ongoing to improve the overall coverage in this regard.
This information was given by the Minister for Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM speaks on telephone with His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation today with His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine conveyed his best wishes for India's Presidency of the G20. Prime Minister explained the main priorities of India's G20 Presidency, including giving a voice to the concerns of developing nations on issues like food and energy security.
The two leaders discussed opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister requested Ukraine authorities to facilitate arrangements for the continued education of Indian students who had to return from Ukraine earlier this year.
The leaders also exchanged views about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi strongly reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and said that both sides should revert to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to their differences. Prime Minister also conveyed India's support for any peace efforts, and assured India's commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance for affected civilian population.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
MSP Operations during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21
Paddy Procurement shows increase of 24.98% against the last year
About 65.32 Lakh Paddy Farmers have benefitted from KMS Procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 95596.84 Crore.
In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season  2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at MSP from farmers as per existing MSP Schemes.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pardesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Karnataka and West Bengal with purchase of over 506.33 LMT of paddy up to 04.01.2021. This is an increase of 24.98% against the last year corresponding purchase of 405.10 LMT. Out of the total purchase of 506.33 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 202.77 LMTs which is 40.04% of total procurement.
About 65.32 Lac farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 95596.84 Crore.
Further, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 51.66 LMT of Pulse and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme. Further, sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of Copra  for the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other States/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Upto 04.01.2021, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 270579.82 MT of Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soyabean having MSP value of Rs.1447.54 Crores benefitting 144969 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Similarly, 5089 MT of copra  having MSP value of Rs.52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu upto 04.01.2021as against the last year corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In respect of Copra and Urad, rates are ruling above MSP in most of the major producing States. The respective State/UTs Governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date as decided by the respective States based on the arrivals in respect of Kharif Pulses and Oilseeds.
Procurement operations of seed cotton  under MSP are going on smoothly in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. Till 04.01.2021 a quantity of 7797758 cotton bales valuing Rs.22818.54 Crore has been procured benefitting 15,11,519 farmers.
Ministry of Education
Fourth edition of National Yoga Olympiad of school children organized by NCERT begins in New Delhi
A three day National Yoga Olympiad of school children, organised by the National Council of Educational Research and Training is being held at Chacha Nehru Bhawan in New Delhi. The Olympiad was inaugurated yesterday by the Director and UNESCO Representative for India, Mr. Eric Falt in the presence of Director NCERT, Professor Hrushikesh Senapaty. This is the fourth edition of National Yoga Olympiad. It was first started in the year 2016.
Professor Hrushikesh Senapaty, in his welcome address, said that this Olympiad creates awareness about a scientific and holistic way of living. The purpose is to create positive attitude among all human beings and promote peaceful living together in the society. Yoga has found an important place in the school curriculum as a part of Health and Physical Education. It is not only for physical development but mental, spiritual and emotional development which also reduces stress. That is why the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has emphasised to promote yoga among school children. This Olympiad will create a sense of unity and understanding among children, who have travelled from different parts of the country – both from rural and urban areas.
Yoga is a means as well as an end for promoting holistic health, said Professor Saroj Yadav, Dean, NCERT. She informed that this year 567 students from 33 States/UTs including CBSE, KVS and NVS and 4DMS of RIEs of NCERT are participating in the Olympiad as compared to the participation of 431 students from 28 States/UTs last year. She further emphasized that Yoga helps in improving physical fitness, mental alertness and emotional stability by developing healthy habits and life style. Prof. Yadav added that for the first time, the competition includes entries from CBSE, KVS and NVS.
After witnessing a mesmerizing yoga performance by young students from Demonstration Multipurpose Schools  from RIEs Ajmer and Bhubaneswar, the Chief Guest, Mr. Eric Falt, stated that UNESCO is proud to associate itself with the International Yoga Day. He added that yoga has been inscribed on the UN representative list of intangible Cultural Heritage. He said that education has become overly competitive and stressful, but the practice of yoga would lead to physical, mental and emotional well- being. Mr. Falt reiterated that yoga goes beyond gender, culture, language, age and ability.
The book title ‘Health and Physical Education – A Teachers Guide Class VIII” was released on the occasion by the guests.
The Secretary, NCERT, Major Harsh Kumar, proposed the vote of thanks appreciating the presence of all the student-participants and others present there.
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Ministry of Power
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Electrification of Villages
As reported by the States, all the inhabited census villages across the country stand electrified as on 28April, 2018. All the States reported electrification of all willing households, on Saubhagya portal, as on 31Mar2019, except few households in LWE affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Subsequently, seven States reported 19,09,679 un-electrified households which were un-willing earlier but are now willing to get electricity connection. These houses are being electrified by the concerned States. The State/UT-wise details are given at Annexure-I. The State-wise per capita electricity consumption for 2018-19 is given at Annexure-II.
As reported by the States, 5,251 un-electrified inhabited census villages were electrified under DDUGJY during the last two years i.e. 2017-18 & 2018-19 . The State-wise details are given at Annexure-III. There is no upfront allocation made to any State under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana  and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - Saubhagya. Funds are released against sanctioned projects in instalments based on the reported utilisation of the previous instalment. Government of India has disbursed Rs. 29,709 crore, as grant, under DDUGJY and Saubhagya during the last two financial years for various works related to rural electrification. The State/UT-wise details are given at Annexure-IV.
As reported by the States, number of hours of power supply in rural areas, is given at Annexure-V. All the inhabited census villages stand electrified as on 28April, 2018. Electricity is a concurrent subject and as such providing electricity connection to households falls under the purview of State Governments / Power Utility. All the States/UTs have entered into Memorandum of Understanding  with the Government of India for providing 24 x 7 power supply to all households, industrial and commercial consumers from April, 2019 and adequate supply of power to agricultural consumers as per State policy. Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the States through its various schemes including Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana , Integrated Power Development Scheme , Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana- Saubhagya and Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana .
This information was provided by Union Minister of State  Power, New & Renewable Energy and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri R.K. Singh, in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.